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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. net — after costs
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — a container
  18. bark — to shout
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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