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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: board · march · lean · bat · last · chip · chair · cap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. board — a committee
  3. march — music
  4. chip — for betting
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — a leader
  18. march — the month
  19. board — to get on
  20. lean — thin
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chair — a professorship

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