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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: game · kid · trunk · charge · season · last · pit · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — to go on
  6. pit — a hole
  7. charge — a price
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. kid — child
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. charge — in control
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. last — final
  15. charge — electricity
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — a match
  22. hand — help
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. game — wild animals

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