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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · wind · squash · pit · wound · prune · cap · charge

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pit — a hole
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — in control
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cap — a lid
  14. squash — the sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cap — of ice
  18. charge — a price
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — the amount
  24. charge — electricity

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