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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · file · nail · charge · net · can · wave · cell

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. file — a tool
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. can — a tin
  6. cell — a phone
  7. charge — a price
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ground — a position
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. charge — in control
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. net — in sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ground — crushed
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. can — a tin
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com