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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: file · pit · club · chip · cell · pound

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pound — a weight
  8. club — for golf
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. club — a group
  18. pit — in a race

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