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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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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: field · racket · chest · coach · foot · current · chair · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. foot — a measure
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. current — of water
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chest — a box
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — electric
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — a subject
  20. chair — a leader
  21. field — for sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — happening now
  24. foot — part of the body

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