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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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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: bound · toast · wake · shower · charge · patient · cell · bear

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bound — tied together
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. charge — a price
  8. wake — a trail
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bear — the animal
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. charge — in control
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. toast — bread
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. shower — rain
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. bear — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. charge — electricity
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bear — to put up with

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