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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · fan · straw · cap · charge · court · roll · snap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to click
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — of a king
  15. charge — in control
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. court — for sport
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — a lid
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. cap — of ice

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