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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 120 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: mate · chip · pass · chair · wound · race

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — a contest
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — a friend

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