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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: rock · chip · craft · wound · snap · band · drill · file

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. chip — in a computer
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. rock — a stone
  4. band — a music group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. band — a ring
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. drill — the tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. craft — boats
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. rock — music
  19. craft — a skill
  20. file — a line of people
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wound — an injury
  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