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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: charge · shower · game · spell · snap · bank · field · pass

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bank — of a river
  5. snap — to click
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. charge — electricity
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bank — for money
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — farmland
  12. charge — a price
  13. pass — a permit
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — magic
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spell — letters
  21. charge — in control
  22. field — a subject
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. field — for sport

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