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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: straw · charge · kid · perch · shower · temple · game · pit

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pit — in a race
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. game — wild animals
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — child
  19. charge — a price
  20. shower — to wash
  21. charge — electricity
  22. pit — a hole
  23. charge — in control
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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