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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 120 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: face · last · perch · charge · kid · chair · cabinet · bore

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a leader
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — to drill
  13. charge — a price
  14. face — to confront
  15. charge — in control
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — gave birth

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