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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: shower · wave · dip · row · charge · date · bat · ground

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. ground — a position
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. date — the fruit
  6. ground — the earth
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. charge — in control
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. dip — to sink
  11. ground — crushed
  12. shower — rain
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bat — the animal
  18. shower — to wash
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a line
  24. date — on the calendar

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