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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: bat · coach · race · prune · patient · date · chair · last

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — final
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. race — a contest
  11. date — the fruit
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. bat — the animal
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bat — in an idiom

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