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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
468
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: cold · last · bank · wound · pop · charge · chest · plane

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pop — music
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bank — for money
  12. plane — a tool
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — final
  17. charge — in control
  18. last — finally
  19. bank — of a river
  20. last — to go on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. charge — a price

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