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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: fine · charge · prune · bat · cold · bear · swing · pit

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — in control
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pit — a hole
  7. fine — all right
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. charge — a price
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. swing — in golf
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. swing — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. charge — electricity
  24. fine — high quality

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