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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: pitch · last · charge · chip · face · trunk · spring · clip

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. charge — in control
  3. spring — a coil
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — a video
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. chip — for betting
  9. face — part of the head
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. charge — a price
  12. face — to confront
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. face — to point toward
  16. clip — to cut
  17. last — final
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spring — of water
  20. chip — to eat
  21. charge — electricity
  22. spring — the season
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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