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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: wind · drill · date · cap · pitcher · mate · chair · chip

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chip — for betting
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — a friend
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — a practice

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