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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: pitch · row · fork · bound · cold · charge · chest · season

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — not warm
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. row — a line
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — of your body
  20. season — of the year
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chest — a box
  23. season — in sport
  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