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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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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: chest · mug · bay · spell · pit · kid · charge · wake

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. charge — a price
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a cup
  7. charge — electricity
  8. mug — to rob
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — child
  18. pit — in a race
  19. mug — a face
  20. charge — in control
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chest — a box

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