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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 · racket · hand · row · cell · kid · spell · charge

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spell — a short time
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. charge — a price
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spell — letters
  10. charge — in control
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spell — magic
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — child
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — in cards
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. charge — electricity
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. hand — help

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