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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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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: fork · coach · safe · chair · bat · cell

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. 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. safe — a strongbox
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fork — in a road
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. 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