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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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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: deal · prune · charge · squash · scale · cold · hide · chest

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cold — an illness
  3. deal — to handle
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. squash — to crush
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chest — a box
  11. charge — a price
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. scale — in music
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chest — of your body
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. charge — electricity
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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