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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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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: race · cap · rest · pitch · spring · net · march · charge

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. charge — a price
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — for catching
  5. rest — what's left
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — in sport
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pitch — completely
  15. march — the month
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — of ice
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rest — a break

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