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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tube — a container
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — a group
  12. band — a ring
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. charge — in control
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — a box
  20. club — for golf
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. band — a music group
  23. charge — a price
  24. chest — of your body

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