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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: root · chair · file · bowl · chip · face · pound · straw

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a tool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. root — of a word
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. file — a document
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pound — a weight
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. root — the cause
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chair — a leader

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