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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 116 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: can · chair · rash · row · charge · wake · land · face

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. chair — a leader
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rash — hasty
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a line
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — in control
  11. land — ground
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. can — a tin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. can — a tin
  17. charge — a price
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. face — to confront
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rash — a series
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. chair — to sit on

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