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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · racket · shower · mine · bass · charge · spell · bat

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — magic
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. charge — electricity
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — letters
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. shower — rain
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. charge — a price
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spring — of water
  22. mine — for digging
  23. charge — in control
  24. bass — the instrument

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