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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · patient · shower · kid · firm · fork · bat · hand

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. hand — help
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. firm — decided
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — rain
  13. kid — to tease
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — in control
  18. firm — a company
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. firm — steady
  24. hand — in cards

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