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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — help
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. branch — a division
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. fall — the season
  21. charge — a price
  22. file — a line of people
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pass — a permit

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