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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: sharp · chair · rule · pass · chest · capital

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — money
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chair — a leader
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. capital — a city
  11. rule — a law
  12. chest — of your body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pass — a permit
  15. rule — government
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chest — a box
  18. sharp — with an edge

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