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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · charge · march · shower · mate · rush · staff · kid

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. staff — a stick
  4. shower — rain
  5. charge — a price
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — to tease
  9. charge — electricity
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rush — hurry
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. staff — employees
  17. charge — in control
  18. kid — child
  19. march — the month
  20. staff — employees
  21. mate — a partner
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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