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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: chip · ruler · chair · stem · squash · spell · face · kid

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. squash — the sport
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chip — to eat
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spell — letters
  12. face — to confront
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stem — to come from
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kid — child
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spell — a short time
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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