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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 120 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 · bowl · lie · charge · shower · row · swing · snap

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. charge — a price
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. shower — rain
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. spring — of water
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lie — to recline
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. charge — in control
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — a line
  22. swing — music
  23. shower — to wash
  24. row — to paddle

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