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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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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 · charge · bear · snap · bank · tube · file · wind

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. charge — a price
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to click
  6. bank — for money
  7. file — a document
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. charge — in control
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. charge — electricity
  22. file — a line of people
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a tool

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