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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 · spell · pound · kid · row · march · arm · rash

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rash — a series
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kid — child
  10. march — the month
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. spell — magic
  13. march — the month
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. row — a line
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — in control
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rash — hasty
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pound — to hit hard

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