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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 · chest · band · court · rash · wind · tube · pitcher

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. court — for sport
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. band — a ring
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — of a king
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — hasty
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rash — a series

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