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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.

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: file · pitch · cold · spell · charge · object · stock · root

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. object — to protest
  3. root — of a word
  4. object — an aim
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a document
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. spell — letters
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stock — shares
  16. spell — a short time
  17. object — a thing
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. charge — a price
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a plant
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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