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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: arm · firm · bark · cold · chip · march · charge · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. charge — in control
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cold — an illness
  15. charge — a price
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. firm — steady
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cold — the Cold War

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