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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: ball · mate · field · pop · pit · spring · charge · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pop — music
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — a box
  7. ball — a dance
  8. spring — the season
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. field — for sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pop — soda
  17. charge — in control
  18. field — a subject
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — farmland
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mate — to breed
  24. spring — of water

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