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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 120 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: chest · trunk · cold · squash · lie · land · charge · ruler

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — a price
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. charge — electricity
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chest — a box
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — not warm

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