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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 · content · rest · chip · mine · cell · straw

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cell — in biology
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. content — the amount
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cell — a phone
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a document

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