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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: last · cold · lean · bound · band · racket · trunk · charge

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. bound — certain
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — final
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. lean — to bend
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. charge — in control
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. last — to go on
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lean — thin
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — finally
  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