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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: charge · mine · shower · lash · cell · mark · net · race

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. charge — in control
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. charge — electricity
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mark — a trace
  8. race — humankind
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. net — after costs
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. net — for catching
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. race — a contest
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. charge — a price
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — in biology
  23. net — in sport
  24. cell — in a prison

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