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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · bowl · face · chip · stem · chair · net · land

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — a country
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — ground
  15. band — a ring
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. land — to come down
  19. net — after costs
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. band — a music group
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. face — to confront
  24. bowl — a football final

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