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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: charge · shower · bay · march · wound · chest · rash · club

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rash — a series
  4. charge — in control
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rash — hasty
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. club — for golf
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. club — a group
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chest — a box
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. march — music
  21. shower — rain
  22. charge — a price
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. shower — to wash

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