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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: chip · capital · race · pitcher · chair · fine · row · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a city
  11. race — humankind
  12. fine — all right
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chip — for betting
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fine — high quality
  19. capital — money
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chip — to eat
  23. row — a line
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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