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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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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: pitch · file · chip · mark · straw · cell · bound · date

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — a phone
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pitch — completely
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — certain

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