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

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — of ice
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. cap — a lid

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