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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: fan · band · degree · wind · kid · coach · charge · fork

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — child
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. charge — a price
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a ring
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. charge — in control
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fork — in a road
  24. band — a music group

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