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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 116 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: chip · shower · trunk · stock · charge · wake · degree · cold

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wake — a trail
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — rain
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. charge — a price
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — to eat
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wake — before a funeral

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