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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: hand · tube · charge · wound · season · toast · land · cue

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. season — in sport
  5. toast — bread
  6. cue — a hint
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. land — to come down
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — a country
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. wound — an injury
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. cue — a signal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. tube — the underground
  22. hand — help
  23. cue — for pool
  24. season — of the year

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