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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · land · pitch · court · chest · cell · charge · season

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chest — a box
  5. court — of law
  6. charge — a price
  7. season — of the year
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — in sport
  11. bulb — for light
  12. charge — electricity
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pitch — completely
  20. court — of a king
  21. charge — in control
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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