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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 120 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: pitch · content · chip · lean · foot · cell · last · fine

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — happy
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fine — all right
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cell — in biology
  14. content — the amount
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. last — finally
  19. lean — thin
  20. fine — high quality
  21. last — final
  22. chip — for betting
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chip — in a computer

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