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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: wound · file · cell · squash · game · rest · pit · chip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a document
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — a match
  11. rest — a break
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. game — wild animals
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — in biology
  21. file — a line of people
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — in a prison

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