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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: wound · charge · land · cue · plane · cabinet · bound · kid

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. charge — a price
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bound — certain
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. charge — electricity
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. land — to come down
  10. charge — in control
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cue — a hint
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. land — a country
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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