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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — money
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — to crush
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lie — to recline
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — rain
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. stock — a soup base

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