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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: fall · race · coach · degree · mark · chair · bass · fork

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — a grade
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. race — humankind
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. race — a contest
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — low music
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fall — the season
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bass — the fish

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