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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: spring · chest · hand · racket · rush · tear · charge · bear

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. charge — a price
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. charge — electricity
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rush — a thrill

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