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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: club · march · deal · tube · wind · content · bass · chip

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. chip — to eat
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. club — a group
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tube — a container
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — low music
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. content — the amount
  21. club — for golf
  22. march — music
  23. deal — an agreement
  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