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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: band · wind · pop · fork · hand · chip · scale · coach

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — to visit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — in music
  11. pop — soda
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pop — music
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chip — for betting

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