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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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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 · pitcher · content · cold · root · file · arm · chip

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitch — completely
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. root — of a word
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — for betting
  21. file — a tool
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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