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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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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: content · hand · hide · pitcher · game · race · saw · charge

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. charge — a price
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. charge — electricity
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. charge — in control
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. content — happy
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. saw — the tool
  15. race — a contest
  16. game — a match
  17. race — humankind
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. content — videos and posts

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