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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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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 · bulb · march · temple · fork · chest · kid · court

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kid — child
  4. chest — a box
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of law
  10. charge — in control
  11. bulb — for light
  12. court — of a king
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — a price
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fork — to eat with

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