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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: last · cue · row · charge · kid · branch · chair · rash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cue — for pool
  4. last — final
  5. charge — a price
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. row — a line
  8. cue — a signal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. last — finally
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. charge — electricity
  13. last — to go on
  14. rash — a series
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — child
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a leader
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. charge — in control

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