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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: roll · pitcher · charge · bat · key · wound · season · field

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. key — for a lock
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — the animal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. field — for sport
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wound — an injury
  21. charge — in control
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  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