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

Word bank: jam · net · charge · shower · bass · bay · fall · cell

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bass — the fish
  3. net — after costs
  4. cell — a phone
  5. charge — a price
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fall — the season
  14. charge — in control
  15. cell — in biology
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bass — low music
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. net — for catching
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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