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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: date · present · bark · bear · kid · stock · chair · charge

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — child
  4. charge — a price
  5. present — there
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. charge — in control
  8. present — the time now
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chair — a leader
  14. present — a gift
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — goods
  24. bark — of a tree

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