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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: cell · chair · row · face · stick · chip · sharp · kick

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chair — a leader
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — in biology
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chip — to eat
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — to confront
  18. cell — a phone
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kick — in football
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — a line
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. row — a quarrel

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