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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 120 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: arm · wound · bulb · wind · chip · pit · content · chair

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — the amount
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bulb — for light
  10. content — happy
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pit — a hole
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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