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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: charge · field · ruler · kid · fall · march

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. march — the month
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. kid — to tease
  5. field — for sport
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. charge — a price
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — music
  11. charge — in control
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. march — the month
  15. field — a subject
  16. fall — to drop
  17. charge — electricity
  18. fall — the season

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