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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: bore · charge · season · net · pass · trunk · cold · key

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. charge — electricity
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. charge — in control
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — not warm
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bore — to tire
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — after costs
  19. key — in music
  20. net — for catching
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — in sport

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