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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: arm · root · band · kid · file · charge · hand · march

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a plant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. root — the cause
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a ring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. hand — in cards
  12. charge — in control
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. charge — a price
  16. root — of a word
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — electricity
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. kid — to tease
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. march — music
  24. hand — help

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