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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: net · date · chip · chest · can · cell · pitch · fork

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — for catching
  5. can — a tin
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — of your body
  9. date — the fruit
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. can — a tin
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pitch — completely
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — a box
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cell — in biology

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