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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 116 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: chip · coach · cold · bark · wind · charge · march · bass

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. charge — a price
  11. chip — to eat
  12. charge — in control
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — moving air
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. charge — electricity
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. march — the month

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