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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: tube · trunk · stock · kid · wind · charge · pass · chest

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kid — to tease
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chest — a box
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. charge — in control
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. charge — a price
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pass — to succeed

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