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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: chest · charge · spell · trunk · ground · spring · band · cue

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. charge — electricity
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — crushed
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. band — a ring
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cue — a signal
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — a position
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cue — a hint
  19. spell — magic
  20. spring — the season
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. cue — for pool
  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