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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: chip · band · content · chair · wake · deal · nail · shower

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — happy
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. band — a music group
  11. chair — a leader
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wake — a trail
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. band — a ring
  18. content — the amount
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. deal — to handle
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. shower — rain
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chip — in a computer

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