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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: charge · pitch · tear · chair · mine · stem

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitch — completely
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. charge — a price
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — a leader
  11. charge — in control
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stem — to come from
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. tear — from crying

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