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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: bulb · clip · chip · band · chair · arm · chest · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — a box
  19. band — a ring
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — a video
  24. band — a music group

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