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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — electricity
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spring — of water
  6. pit — in a race
  7. shower — rain
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — to crush
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. charge — a price
  14. spring — a coil
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. charge — in control
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bore — to tire
  22. spring — the season
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pit — a hole

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