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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 · wound · saw · cabinet · cap · bat · march · tear

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. march — the month
  6. charge — a price
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tear — from crying
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. charge — in control
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — a hat
  24. march — 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