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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: wind · chip · jam · nail · chest · club · lie · march

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chip — for betting
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. march — the month
  5. club — a group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. march — music
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lie — to recline
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. chest — a box
  19. chip — to eat
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. nail — for a hammer

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