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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: race · fall · mate · lean · chair · chip

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chip — to eat
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. fall — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mate — to breed
  18. race — a contest

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