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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: trunk · charge · safe · shower · court · bat · scale · pop

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pop — to visit
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. charge — in control
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pop — music
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. court — of law
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. charge — a price
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. shower — rain
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. court — for sport
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pop — soda
  21. scale — in music
  22. bat — the animal
  23. court — of a king
  24. shower — to wash

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