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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 116 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: straw · dip · cold · racket · fall · charge · row · rash

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. fall — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. charge — electricity
  5. row — a line
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rash — a series
  12. fall — to drop
  13. charge — a price
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cold — an illness
  22. row — to paddle
  23. charge — in control
  24. rash — hasty

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