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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: bat · firm · charge · ball · spring · leaves · shower · last

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. ball — a great time
  4. charge — electricity
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — finally
  7. charge — in control
  8. firm — decided
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. spring — a coil
  15. charge — a price
  16. firm — a company
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — rain
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — lets stay

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