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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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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: clip · march · straw · field · rest · pit · chip · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. chip — to eat
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — tied together
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. march — the month
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rest — a break
  22. pit — in a race
  23. clip — to cut
  24. 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