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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 · last · shower · pitch · chip · capital · mark · pit

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. last — final
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. last — finally
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pit — in a race
  13. shower — rain
  14. mark — a grade
  15. capital — a city
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. pitch — completely
  20. last — to go on
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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