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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: pitch · chair · stem · capital · march · coach · spell · current

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. current — happening now
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — letters
  15. march — music
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spell — magic
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitch — completely
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spell — a short time
  24. march — the month

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