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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: pit · march · fall · spell · chip · row · charge · chest

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — the month
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spell — magic
  7. charge — a price
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pit — in a race
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fall — the season
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — a box

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