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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 120 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: charge · pitch · staff · bat · race · cold · prune · leaves

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. charge — in control
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — humankind
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. staff — employees
  17. race — a contest
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. charge — a price
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. staff — a stick
  24. prune — the fruit

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