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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 116 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: object · prune · spell · bore · trunk · cold · charge · mine

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. object — a thing
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spell — letters
  8. charge — electricity
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spell — magic
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. object — to protest
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bore — to tire
  21. spell — a short time
  22. object — an aim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. charge — in control

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