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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · charge · sharp · rash · kid · mate · straw · face

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — a price
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kid — child
  5. charge — in control
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rash — a series
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. face — part of the head
  16. charge — electricity
  17. face — to confront
  18. mate — a friend
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rash — hasty
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. straw — a straw man

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