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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · mouse · charge · chair · spring · net · wound · cell

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. net — for catching
  4. charge — in control
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. charge — a price
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a music group
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — the season
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. net — after costs
  23. spring — of water
  24. net — in sport

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