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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · march · bass · bat · chip · wind · last · file

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. object — a thing
  5. march — the month
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. object — an aim
  9. file — a tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. object — to protest
  12. last — final
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. file — a document
  20. march — the month
  21. last — to go on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. last — finally
  24. bat — the animal

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