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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · snap · rest · charge · pitch · tube · game · wound

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. snap — to click
  4. game — a match
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. charge — in control
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rest — what's left
  13. charge — a price
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tube — the underground
  19. charge — electricity
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rest — a break
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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