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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: hand · kid · date · sharp · chair · pit · chip · capital

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. capital — money
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. date — the fruit
  6. kid — child
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pit — a hole
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. hand — help
  22. sharp — clever
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pit — in a race

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