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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 120 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: row · cold · snap · bay · lean · bore · chest · charge

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. charge — a price
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. snap — to click
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — a line
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bore — to drill
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. charge — in control
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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