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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: tube · kid · charge · hand · stock · bound · band · fall

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. tube — a container
  12. bound — certain
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bound — obliged
  15. band — a ring
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — help
  23. stock — goods
  24. charge — in control

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