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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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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 · deal · straw · file · bass · club · plane

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. club — for dancing
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bass — low music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. file — a tool
  21. bass — the fish
  22. deal — to handle
  23. plane — a tool
  24. club — a 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