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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: rock · tube · wound · row · hand · cold · charge · bass

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. charge — in control
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a line
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — a container
  17. hand — help
  18. charge — electricity
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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