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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: charge · rock · key · wound · cap · fine · chest · spring

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cap — of ice
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. charge — a price
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — a box
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — of water
  23. cap — a lid
  24. key — in music

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