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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: chest · bowl · rush · wake · trunk · pit · wind · charge

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. charge — electricity
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chest — a box
  13. wake — a trail
  14. charge — in control
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — a price
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pit — a hole
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rush — to hurry

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