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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: staff · charge · rest · wound · spell · nail · shower · wave

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spell — magic
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spell — letters
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. charge — a price
  10. staff — employees
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. charge — in control
  17. rest — a break
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. staff — employees
  21. rest — what's left
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — rain
  24. wave — of the sea

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