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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: clip · content · wave · straw · pitch · bass · tear · chip

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. clip — to cut
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. content — the amount
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bass — low music
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chip — to eat

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