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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: mine · board · shower · sharp · kid · chair · cap · dip

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — a leader
  5. board — to get on
  6. shower — rain
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — child
  9. cap — a hat
  10. board — a committee
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. mine — for digging
  16. shower — to wash
  17. dip — to sink
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. sharp — clever
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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