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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — a line
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. charge — electricity
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. charge — in control
  20. march — music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. arm — part of the body

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