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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wake · march · chip · wound · chest · tube · fan · mouse

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chip — for betting
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — a box

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