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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.

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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: ground · pit · chest · chip · straw · pound

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chest — a box
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ground — a position
  18. pit — a hole

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