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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · chip · pitch · band · charge · field · content · pop

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. charge — electricity
  3. content — happy
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chip — to eat
  6. field — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pop — to visit
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pop — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. charge — a price
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitch — completely
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — soda
  21. band — a music group
  22. chip — for betting
  23. charge — in control
  24. straw — a straw man

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