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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 116 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: chip · pitch · suit · stock · content · cold · field · fine

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stock — goods
  3. suit — clothes
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. suit — to fit
  7. chip — to eat
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. content — the amount
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — farmland
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — a subject

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