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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: shower · firm · race · file · game · wind · jam · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. wind — moving air
  4. charge — in control
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. charge — a price
  12. race — humankind
  13. firm — a company
  14. race — a contest
  15. shower — rain
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. file — a tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. race — the arms race
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. file — a document
  24. game — a match

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