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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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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 · charge · mark · band · track · root · kick · cold

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pitch — completely
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. charge — in control
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. root — of a word
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. track — to keep track
  13. kick — in football
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — not warm
  16. charge — electricity
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cold — an illness
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. charge — a price
  23. track — a path
  24. cold — the Cold War

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