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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: wound · cell · content · ground · stand · dip · charge · bank

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — the amount
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bank — of a river
  7. charge — electricity
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. content — happy
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ground — a position
  16. bank — for money
  17. charge — in control
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stand — to bear
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — videos and posts

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