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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: charge · rest · swing · face · shower · squash · prune · court

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. charge — a price
  3. squash — to crush
  4. face — part of the head
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rest — what's left
  7. charge — electricity
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — in control
  12. face — to confront
  13. court — of law
  14. face — to point toward
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — to play on
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. squash — the sport
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — rain
  23. court — of a king
  24. squash — the vegetable

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