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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. land — ground
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — a leader
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. capital — a big letter

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