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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: rush · wound · bat · fall · charge · jam · file · mark

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. charge — in control
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. charge — a price
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — the season
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. file — a document
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. charge — electricity
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wound — an injury

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