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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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468
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 · racket · cold · bark · shower · charge · dip · swing

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. charge — a price
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. charge — electricity
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — to tire
  15. dip — to sink
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. swing — music
  21. charge — in control
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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