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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: rest · fan · last · season · pit · bore · game · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — in control
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pit — a hole
  6. season — of the year
  7. rest — a break
  8. charge — a price
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. last — to go on
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a match
  15. season — in sport
  16. last — finally
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — final
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bore — to drill

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