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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: fine · charge · chest · arm · snap · kid · net · bark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. net — for catching
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. charge — in control
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chest — of your body
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fine — all right
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. net — in sport
  14. fine — high quality
  15. kid — to tease
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — child
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. charge — a price

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