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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: spring · club · bank · tear · pitcher · charge · cap · shower

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. charge — in control
  6. club — a group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — of a river
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. club — for golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. charge — a price
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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