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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: wake · file · ground · mouse · cold · fine · charge · shower

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fine — high quality
  4. ground — a position
  5. wake — a trail
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fine — all right
  14. charge — in control
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — crushed
  17. charge — a price
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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