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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.

Make a worksheet

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: content · chair · mine · land · plane · cue · chip · ball

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. content — happy
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cue — for pool
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cue — a signal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cue — a hint
  11. chip — for betting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — the amount
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. ball — a great time
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. land — to come down
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. land — ground

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