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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: clip · firm · bound · pit · fall · cell · coach · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. firm — a company
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — certain
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — a video
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — steady
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. firm — decided
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cell — a phone

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