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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: chest · squash · bank · pitcher · field · charge · lean · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. charge — in control
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bank — for money
  12. charge — a price
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. game — a match
  16. bank — of a river
  17. squash — to crush
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. bank — for money
  21. chest — a box
  22. charge — electricity
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — farmland

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