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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: charge · wave · band · wind · chest · perch · bark · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chest — of your body
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. charge — a price
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — a box
  23. charge — in control
  24. wind — to turn a key

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