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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: bowl · pitch · spring · mouse · charge · chest · field · wind

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. field — farmland
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — the season
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitch — completely
  24. field — a subject

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