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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. staff — employees
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. staff — a stick
  10. land — a country
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. last — finally
  16. row — a line
  17. land — to come down
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chip — to eat
  20. land — ground
  21. last — final
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — to go on
  24. stem — of a plant

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