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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rule — a law
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bass — low music
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. shower — rain
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pound — a weight
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rule — to rule out

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