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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: charge · foot · bark · can · mark · coach · season · cold

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. charge — electricity
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bark — to shout
  11. charge — in control
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. season — of the year
  17. can — to be able to
  18. season — in sport
  19. can — a tin
  20. foot — a measure
  21. can — a tin
  22. charge — a price
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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