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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: land · ground · trunk · charge · key · rule · squash · lean

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. key — the most important part
  3. ground — the earth
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rule — government
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. key — in music
  10. land — a country
  11. key — for a lock
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. charge — electricity
  15. land — to come down
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rule — a law
  21. land — ground
  22. ground — a position
  23. charge — in control
  24. squash — to crush

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