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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · chair · field · object · wound · wave · coach · capital

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. object — an aim
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mate — to breed
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. capital — money
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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