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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · ground · present · bat · tear · jam · march · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. present — a gift
  7. ground — crushed
  8. charge — a price
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. present — the time now
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. present — there
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — the animal
  24. march — the month

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