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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 116 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: cabinet · wind · chair · chip · kid · pitcher · lie · hand

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — child
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pitcher — a jug

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