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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: rash · shower · snap · coach · kid · fall · charge · mate

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rash — a series
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. shower — rain
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — hasty
  7. shower — to wash
  8. fall — the season
  9. charge — electricity
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. charge — a price
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — child
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. charge — in control
  23. snap — to click
  24. mate — to breed

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