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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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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: cold · shower · object · charge · cell · rest

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. object — a thing
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. charge — a price
  12. object — to protest
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — a break
  15. charge — in control
  16. shower — rain
  17. cell — a phone
  18. object — an aim

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