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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 · chest · rush · bore · lean · object · squash · file

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. file — a document
  5. chest — a box
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lean — thin
  11. object — to protest
  12. rush — hurry
  13. object — a thing
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. object — an aim
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. file — a tool
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — a price
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bore — to tire

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