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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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468
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: charge · chip · chair · court · wax · hide · hand · tear

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chip — to eat
  4. charge — in control
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. charge — a price
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. court — of a king
  16. chair — a leader
  17. hand — help
  18. wax — to grow
  19. chip — for betting
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. charge — electricity
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. tear — from crying

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