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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: rush · bass · pitcher · land · coach · charge · bark · kid

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. kid — to tease
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rush — hurry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. charge — in control
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bass — low music
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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