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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 120 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: wave · shower · charge · temple · wind · hand · chair · mark

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — a grade
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. charge — in control
  11. chair — a leader
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mark — a trace
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. shower — rain

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