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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 120 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: rush · charge · kid · root · chest · coach · content · bark

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — a price
  3. kid — child
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. root — the cause
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bark — to shout
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — hurry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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