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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 · tube · bulb · lean · land · wake · face

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. charge — electricity
  3. tube — a container
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. land — ground
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — a country
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. lean — thin
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. land — to come down
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bulb — for light
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wake — a trail
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. band — a music group

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