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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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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: charge · wind · chip · season · last · chair · mark · clip

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mark — a trace
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. last — final
  7. season — in sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — of the year
  14. charge — a price
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — electricity
  18. chair — a leader
  19. charge — in control
  20. clip — a video
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — to go on
  23. mark — a grade
  24. chip — to eat

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