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

Word bank: chest · pitch · race · chair · board · coach

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. board — a committee
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. race — a contest
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. race — humankind
  14. chest — of your body
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. board — to get on
  18. race — the arms race

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