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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: date · spring · pitch · kick · charge · coach · clip · bound

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bound — certain
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — a coil
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bound — obliged
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. date — the fruit
  19. charge — electricity
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. charge — in control
  24. date — on the calendar

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