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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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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: staff · pitch · bass · content · land · pitcher · spell · pit

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitch — completely
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. land — a country
  8. spell — a short time
  9. staff — a stick
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — happy
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — ground
  16. spell — letters
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. content — videos and posts

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