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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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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: sharp · fork · cold · stick · chest · march · charge · cue

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. march — music
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — a hint
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. charge — a price
  18. fork — in a road
  19. charge — in control
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cold — not warm

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