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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 116 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: snap · wind · march · band · face · charge · present · bark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. charge — a price
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. charge — in control
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. face — to point toward
  17. present — the time now
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bark — to shout
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. face — to confront
  22. present — there
  23. charge — electricity
  24. present — a gift

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