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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: fall · cold · march · jam · bear · charge · game · bark

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. game — a match
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. march — music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. charge — in control
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bear — the animal

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