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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 120 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: ball · land · wave · chip · chair · cell · charge · capital

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. charge — a price
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — a country
  5. chip — to eat
  6. charge — in control
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. charge — electricity
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. capital — money
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. land — to come down
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. ball — a dance
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — a phone

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