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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: drill · kid · chest · kick · charge · object · shower · cue

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cue — a signal
  4. charge — electricity
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. charge — a price
  9. cue — for pool
  10. charge — in control
  11. shower — rain
  12. object — to protest
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. object — a thing
  15. drill — army training
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — in football
  22. object — an aim
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kick — with a leg

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