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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chair — a leader
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bark — to shout
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. dip — to dunk

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