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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 120 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: chip · chair · face · charge · wound · spring · club · band

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. charge — a price
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. club — for golf
  8. spring — a coil
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — of water
  12. charge — in control
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. charge — electricity
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chip — to eat
  22. club — a group
  23. chair — a leader
  24. band — a ring

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