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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: squash · bore · dip · chest · cold · charge · pit · game

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pit — in a race
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — to drill
  10. charge — in control
  11. chest — of your body
  12. charge — a price
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chest — a box
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — a hole
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. charge — electricity
  24. squash — to crush

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