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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 · can · chair · roll · bat · capital · fan · fall

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. roll — a cake
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. fall — the season
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. can — to be able to
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bat — in an idiom

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