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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: field · bank · squash · wound · charge · capital · date · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. charge — electricity
  3. field — a subject
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — a container
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. field — farmland
  9. bank — for money
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — for sport
  13. bank — of a river
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. capital — money
  21. charge — a price
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. charge — in control
  24. wound — an injury

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