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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chip — for betting
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. land — a country
  6. march — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — soda
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chair — a leader
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fall — to drop

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