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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: chip · game · band · bound · trunk · mine · sharp · club

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chip — to eat
  6. game — a match
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. band — a music group
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bound — tied together
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. band — a ring
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. club — for golf
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bound — certain
  24. chip — for betting

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