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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: pit · drill · rash · content · pitcher · shower · charge · wax

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. charge — a price
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. charge — in control
  8. rash — a series
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pit — a hole
  12. drill — a practice
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. shower — to wash
  16. drill — army training
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. content — the amount
  21. charge — electricity
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pit — in a race
  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