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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · band · press · rock · chair · coach · mine · pit

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pit — in a race
  4. press — to push
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rock — music
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. band — a music group
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. press — a publisher
  15. band — a ring
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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