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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. charge — in control
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. charge — electricity
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chip — to eat
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. shower — rain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. charge — a price
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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