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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bank — of a river
  8. pop — to visit
  9. charge — in control
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — for digging
  14. charge — a price
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pop — music
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bank — for money
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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