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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: nail · charge · wound · file · chip · straw · shower · ground

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wound — an injury
  4. charge — in control
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chip — for betting
  7. charge — a price
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. charge — electricity
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chip — to eat
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — rain
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. file — a document

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