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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 120 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: wound · kid · march · patient · charge · content · hand · perch

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. charge — electricity
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. hand — in cards
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. charge — a price
  9. content — the amount
  10. hand — help
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — happy
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. march — music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — child
  24. perch — the fish

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