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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 116 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: band · field · chip · cell · pitch · snap

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. snap — to click
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. chip — to eat
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a ring
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. band — a music group
  18. cell — in a prison

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