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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · degree · charge · hide · chair · field · coach · rash

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. charge — electricity
  6. degree — from a university
  7. charge — in control
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mine — for digging
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chair — a leader
  17. charge — a price
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — an explosive

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