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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · charge · straw · season · degree · cell · game · pitcher

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — of the year
  5. charge — in control
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — in sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — an amount
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. degree — temperature
  15. game — a match
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — from a university
  22. game — wild animals
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — a price

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