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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 116 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: charge · fork · hide · leaves · pitch · cell · pitcher · field

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. charge — in control
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cell — a phone
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. charge — a price
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pitch — completely
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fork — to eat with

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