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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: chest · charge · tear · pitch · field · land · mark · deal

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. charge — electricity
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mark — a grade
  7. charge — a price
  8. mark — a trace
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chest — a box
  11. land — a country
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. land — to come down
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. land — ground
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. charge — in control
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chest — of your body

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