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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: shower · press · chip · content · file · pit · chair · last

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chair — a leader
  3. file — a tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a document
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — to push
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — rain
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chip — to eat
  13. content — happy
  14. last — to go on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. shower — to wash
  21. last — finally
  22. pit — in a race
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — final

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