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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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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: charge · cell · wax · shower · race · snap

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. race — a contest
  3. charge — in control
  4. wax — to grow
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. race — the arms race
  13. snap — to click
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cell — in biology
  16. race — humankind
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity

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