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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 · clip · cold · pitcher · bound · suit · charge · face

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. charge — in control
  8. cold — an illness
  9. charge — a price
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bound — certain
  12. suit — to fit
  13. charge — electricity
  14. cold — not warm
  15. suit — clothes
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pitcher — a jug

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