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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: charge · bat · staff · row · club · pitch · content · perch

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — in control
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — for dancing
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. row — a line
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitch — completely
  10. club — a group
  11. content — happy
  12. club — for golf
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. staff — employees
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — the amount
  24. staff — a stick

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