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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: wake · jam · bank · face · clip · bat · band · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — for money
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bank — of a river
  8. band — a music group
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bank — for money
  13. face — to confront
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. face — part of the head
  22. band — a ring
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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