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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: pound · march · can · vault · shower · file · charge · hand

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. can — a tin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. can — a tin
  9. charge — electricity
  10. hand — in cards
  11. vault — a safe
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. can — to be able to
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — a weight
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. charge — a price

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