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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: chair · shower · bass · bore · charge · roll · wake · bat

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. roll — a list
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wake — a trail
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bass — low music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. shower — to wash
  12. charge — a price
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bore — to drill
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. charge — electricity
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. charge — in control
  24. bass — the instrument

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