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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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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: wave · ground · drill · pitcher · content · chip · chair · rule

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — happy
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chip — to eat
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chip — for betting
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rule — a law
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. content — the amount
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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