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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: wake · chest · bowl · march · chip · present

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — a gift
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. march — music
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. march — the month
  10. present — the time now
  11. chip — to eat
  12. present — there
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — a box

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