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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
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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: chair · charge · ground · last · band · wave · game · file

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. charge — in control
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. charge — a price
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — a position
  11. file — a document
  12. last — to go on
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. ground — crushed
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. game — a match
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a line of people

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