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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: cold · chair · cabinet · tear · sharp · jam · land · chip

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — ground
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chip — for betting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — to come down
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. chip — to eat
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chair — a leader
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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