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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: chip · pit · chair · bass · fall · present · tear · fan

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bass — low music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pit — in a race
  17. present — the time now
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. present — there
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fall — the season

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