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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: field · charge · stem · bound · cold · chip · fall · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fall — the season
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chip — for betting
  12. charge — in control
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. charge — electricity
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. charge — a price
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — farmland
  21. chip — to eat
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bound — obliged

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