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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: pop · ground · charge · drill · game · hand · racket · saw

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. charge — electricity
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. drill — a practice
  5. game — a match
  6. ground — the earth
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — to visit
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. charge — a price
  11. hand — help
  12. pop — music
  13. hand — in cards
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pop — soda
  18. drill — army training
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. charge — in control
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ground — a position
  24. drill — the tool

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