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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 120 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: trunk · hand · march · wave · charge · ball · fall · bound

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. march — the month
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. charge — electricity
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. charge — a price
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bound — certain
  17. march — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. charge — in control
  20. hand — help
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bound — obliged
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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