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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · spell · clip · wind · shower · chip · rock · ball

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — magic
  5. rock — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chip — to eat
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. shower — rain
  24. spell — a short time

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