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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: band · charge · file · wound · shower · mark · ball · mouse

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. file — a line of people
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. shower — rain
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. charge — in control
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a tool
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — an injury
  24. file — a document

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