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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: pitcher · stem · chest · bowl · game · march · squash · charge

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. charge — in control
  4. squash — to crush
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stem — to come from
  9. march — music
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. charge — a price
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. game — a match
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bowl — to roll

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