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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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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: tear · game · wind · cap · chip · mate · chair · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a lid
  5. track — a song
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mate — a friend
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mate — to breed
  23. track — a path
  24. game — a match

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