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

Word bank: charge · race · wake · band · cell · bank

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. band — a music group
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bank — for money
  5. charge — a price
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cell — in biology
  9. band — a ring
  10. cell — a phone
  11. charge — in control
  12. race — humankind
  13. bank — for money
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cell — in a prison

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