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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 120 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: chip · can · shower · club · cabinet · charge · press · chest

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. shower — rain
  7. can — a tin
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — a price
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — to push
  14. chest — a box
  15. chip — to eat
  16. can — to be able to
  17. club — for golf
  18. charge — in control
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — of your body
  21. club — a group
  22. can — a tin
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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