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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 124 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 · fall · pop · can · band · game · charge · file

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. charge — a price
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — music
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a document
  9. charge — electricity
  10. band — a ring
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — the earth
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. charge — in control
  19. pop — soda
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pop — to visit
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ground — a position

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