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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: tube · bat · fork · chest · charge · wind · pitch · scale

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. scale — size or range
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. charge — a price
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tube — a container
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. charge — in control
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — completely
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — in music
  24. fork — to eat with

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