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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · racket · rash · bore · clip · pitcher · content

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. march — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — hasty
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. march — the month
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chip — to eat
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bore — to tire
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bore — to drill

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