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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: rock · cell · chair · cold · chip · coach

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rock — music
  4. chip — for betting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer

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