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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 · mate · kick · chair · mark · shower · content · trunk

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mark — a trace
  15. charge — a price
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — to wash
  22. kick — in football
  23. shower — rain
  24. kick — a thrill

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