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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: mouse · fan · wake · bound · cold · fall · charge · tube

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wake — a trail
  13. charge — in control
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tube — a container
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — not warm
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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