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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: march · bound · bark · season · arm · charge · swing · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bound — obliged
  5. march — the month
  6. season — in sport
  7. charge — electricity
  8. season — of the year
  9. staff — employees
  10. charge — a price
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. march — music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. staff — employees
  16. bark — to shout
  17. charge — in control
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bound — certain
  20. swing — music
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. march — the month
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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