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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: pound · chip · season · file · spring · cell · pit · drill

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — a coil
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — of the year
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. season — in sport
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — a phone
  16. file — a tool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spring — of water
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pit — a hole
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. drill — the tool

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