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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: shower · charge · ball · kid · land · fan · patient · wound

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ball — a dance
  3. charge — a price
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. shower — rain
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. ball — a great time
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. land — a country
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — to come down
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. land — ground
  24. kid — to tease

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