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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: wound · tube · march · hand · chip · bank · squash · ground

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — for money
  5. tube — a container
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bank — of a river
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tube — the underground
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — help
  18. bank — for money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ground — the earth
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. hand — in cards
  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