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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: object · wound · swing · jam · charge · chest · band · face

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. charge — electricity
  4. object — to protest
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. object — an aim
  8. chest — a box
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chest — of your body
  11. charge — a price
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. face — part of the head
  19. charge — in control
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. swing — to play on
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. object — a thing

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