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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · scale · land · pitch · racket · wake · chair · charge

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — ground
  3. charge — electricity
  4. land — a country
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. charge — in control
  10. scale — in music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. land — to come down
  16. shower — to wash
  17. scale — size or range
  18. charge — a price
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. racket — for tennis

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