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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: band · pitch · pit · snap · charge · pound · mine · cell

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. charge — in control
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a music group
  20. charge — a price
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cell — in biology
  24. band — a ring

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