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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: bat · mine · coach · charge · kid · bound · wound · roll

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bound — certain
  6. kid — child
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. roll — a cake
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — obliged
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. charge — electricity
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bound — tied together
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kid — to tease

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