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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — of a king
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — for sport
  8. chip — to eat
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. march — the month
  12. charge — a price
  13. wound — an injury
  14. root — of a plant
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — child
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a document
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — in control

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