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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 120 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: tube · tear · pop · chest · ground · wind · lean · charge

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — to bend
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pop — soda
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — a box
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. charge — electricity
  13. tube — a container
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ground — a position
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — a price
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — in control
  21. lean — thin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tube — the underground

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