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

Word bank: chair · chip · fall · rule · band · pass

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rule — a law
  8. fall — the season
  9. chip — to eat
  10. rule — government
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pass — a permit
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. band — a ring

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