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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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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 · kid · drill · wave · face · deal · spell · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kid — to tease
  3. band — a music group
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — a short time
  7. band — a ring
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — army training
  10. charge — in control
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. face — to confront
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. spell — magic
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. charge — a price
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. spell — letters
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. face — part of the head

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