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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: arm · chair · chip · pop · band · degree · bank · court

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bank — for money
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pop — to visit
  6. band — a ring
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pop — soda
  9. bank — of a river
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — for sport
  13. bank — for money
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pop — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. court — of law
  19. chair — a leader
  20. band — a music group
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. chair — to sit on

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