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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: fall · stock · mug · land · wind · coach · charge · tube

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. land — to come down
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stock — shares
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mug — to rob
  10. land — ground
  11. charge — in control
  12. stock — goods
  13. fall — to drop
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fall — the season
  18. mug — a face
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — a country
  24. tube — in a tire

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