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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: chair · shower · wax · stick · club · tube · chip · press

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. club — for golf
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chip — for betting
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. chip — to eat
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. tube — a container
  20. club — a group
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. press — to push
  24. club — for dancing

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