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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 116 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 · chip · stick · content · root · wound · cabinet · fall

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. root — the cause
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. root — of a word
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. content — the amount
  20. root — of a plant
  21. content — happy
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chip — for betting
  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