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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 · file · chip · season · wax · club · content · pit

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. club — a group
  7. pit — in a race
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for golf
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pit — a hole
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. chip — for betting
  24. file — a document

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