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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 116 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: suit · band · cold · chair · mine · drill · deal · charge

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. band — a ring
  3. suit — clothes
  4. charge — in control
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. suit — in cards
  12. band — a music group
  13. charge — a price
  14. mine — for digging
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — an illness
  18. drill — the tool
  19. suit — to fit
  20. charge — electricity
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. drill — a practice

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