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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: march · mine · pitcher · tube · wound · deal · chip · bass

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — for betting
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — to eat
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tube — a container
  24. march — the month

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