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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: coach · fork · stick · season · chair · wound · cell · firm

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. firm — decided
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. firm — steady
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. firm — a company
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. season — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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