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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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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: kid · chair · fall · bat · bass · chip · hide · cap

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bass — low music
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bass — the fish
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — to tease

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