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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — the season
  7. cap — a hat
  8. scale — in music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. squash — to crush
  23. can — a tin
  24. cap — a lid

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