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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · bulb · face · chair · bat · degree · pitch · charge

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. face — to point toward
  5. degree — from a university
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bulb — for light
  8. charge — a price
  9. last — final
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — the animal
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. last — finally
  22. charge — in control
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bat — for baseball

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