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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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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: mate · mine · object · bear · charge · kid · bat · shower

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. object — a thing
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — a price
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mate — a friend
  17. charge — in control
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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