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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: charge · can · game · cold · last · chest · stick · club

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — finally
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — in control
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. charge — a price
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — a match
  13. club — for golf
  14. charge — electricity
  15. can — to be able to
  16. club — a group
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — final
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. last — to go on
  23. can — a tin
  24. club — for dancing

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