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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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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: club · hide · face · coach · rule · chair

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rule — a law
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — to confront
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — part of the head
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — to point toward
  10. club — a group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. rule — government

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