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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: capital · saw · chest · board · wind · charge · bark · hand

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — the tool
  12. charge — in control
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — money
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — to get on
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. capital — a city
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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