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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: chest · rush · shower · track · rash · cold · charge · swing

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — a series
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rush — hurry
  13. charge — in control
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. charge — electricity
  18. track — a path
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chest — a box
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — a price
  24. track — to keep track

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