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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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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: chair · charge · rest · cell · cabinet · net · kid · shower

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. charge — electricity
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — in control
  12. kid — to tease
  13. shower — rain
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. net — after costs
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rest — a break
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cell — in a prison

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