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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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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: band · game · wound · shower · bass · wave · bore · chip

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bass — low music
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bore — to drill
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chip — for betting
  24. game — a match

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