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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · cold · rule · band · charge · season · wound · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — government
  8. charge — a price
  9. season — of the year
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — in sport
  15. chip — for betting
  16. track — to keep track
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. rule — a law
  21. charge — electricity
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. charge — in control
  24. chip — in a computer

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