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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: chest · charge · bark · court · wind · mug · patient · fall

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. charge — a price
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. court — of law
  12. chest — of your body
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — a box
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. charge — electricity
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — the season
  22. charge — in control
  23. bark — to shout
  24. court — of a king

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