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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: chest · can · bark · tube · fall · march · charge · kid

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. march — the month
  3. fall — the season
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. can — to be able to
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — music
  12. charge — electricity
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tube — a container
  16. bark — to shout
  17. charge — in control
  18. can — a tin
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — to tease
  23. charge — a price
  24. chest — a box

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