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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · chair · race · stock · tear · chip

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chair — a leader
  12. race — humankind
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — goods
  16. chip — to eat
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter

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