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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: bulb · bark · ground · cold · land · pit · charge · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — ground
  8. pit — a hole
  9. charge — electricity
  10. land — to come down
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — a position
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. charge — in control
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. charge — a price
  21. land — a country
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bulb — for light

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