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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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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 · band · tear · capital · chip · saw · board · lash

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chip — for betting
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. board — to get on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. band — a ring
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. board — a committee
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. tear — to rip
  23. saw — the tool
  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