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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: chip · shower · chair · last · sharp · land · suit · capital

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. suit — in cards
  6. land — ground
  7. suit — clothes
  8. capital — money
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chip — to eat
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. shower — to wash
  18. sharp — clever
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chair — a leader
  23. suit — to fit
  24. 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