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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: chest · bound · last · patient · file · pit · pitch · straw

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitch — completely
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. file — a tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — to go on
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. last — final
  18. file — a document
  19. chest — a box
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. last — finally
  22. bound — certain
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. file — a line of people

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