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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — a match
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — wild animals
  19. shower — rain
  20. vault — a safe
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chip — for betting
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. patient — a sick person

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