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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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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: staff · row · pit · chair · dip · tear · bat · coach

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — in a race
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — to paddle
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. row — a line
  20. tear — to rip
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. row — a quarrel

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