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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: shower · straw · chest · charge · land · stem · dip · court

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of law
  3. charge — electricity
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. charge — in control
  6. court — of a king
  7. stem — to come from
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — rain
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chest — of your body
  17. charge — a price
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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