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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: wake · roll · craft · cell · can · charge · file · bound

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. charge — in control
  3. file — a document
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bound — certain
  8. roll — a list
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in biology
  13. charge — a price
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. file — a tool
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. can — to be able to
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bound — obliged
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — a trail
  24. charge — electricity

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