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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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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: charge · pitcher · cold · pound · wave · straw · kick · chest

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. charge — a price
  14. chest — a box
  15. charge — electricity
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — not warm
  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