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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: chest · charge · cell · nail · kick · object · wound · tube

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — in control
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. object — an aim
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. object — a thing
  13. tube — a container
  14. cell — a phone
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. tube — the underground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chest — a box
  22. object — to protest
  23. kick — in football
  24. nail — for a hammer

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