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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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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: pound · field · capital · chair · charge · chip · present · bowl

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. charge — electricity
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pound — a weight
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chip — to eat
  16. charge — in control
  17. capital — money
  18. present — there
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — a gift
  21. chip — for betting
  22. present — the time now
  23. charge — a price
  24. pound — to hit hard

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