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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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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: mine · arm · shower · cold · pitch · toast · kick · charge

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. charge — a price
  3. toast — bread
  4. shower — rain
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — in football
  23. charge — in control
  24. cold — an illness

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