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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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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: fork · coach · safe · chair · bat · cell · object · nail

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. object — to protest
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. object — a thing
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chair — a leader
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — an aim
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cell — in biology

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