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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: bass · chair · jam · capital · chest · rash · kid · charge

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. charge — electricity
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. capital — money
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. bass — low music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — a box
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. charge — in control
  16. kid — child
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. capital — a city
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chest — of your body
  24. charge — a price

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