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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: mine · stock · pitch · pitcher · last · scale · tear · charge

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. charge — in control
  3. mine — for digging
  4. last — finally
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. last — to go on
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. last — final
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitch — completely
  13. charge — a price
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. charge — electricity
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — shares

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