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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: last · capital · chip · chair · band · mate · cell · bowl

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — to breed
  4. band — a music group
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — money
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cell — a phone
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mate — a friend
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. last — final
  22. band — a ring
  23. chair — a leader
  24. last — finally

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