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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
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: straw · season · land · coach · plane · hide · chair · lean

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. season — in sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. season — of the year
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lean — thin
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chair — a leader
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. land — a country
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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