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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: fall · stock · bound · rule · wind · pitch · charge · court

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bound — certain
  3. rule — a law
  4. court — of law
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rule — government
  8. court — of a king
  9. stock — shares
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitch — completely
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. charge — a price
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. fall — the season
  22. court — for sport
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bound — obliged

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