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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: coach · bore · mark · land · rush · pitcher · chair · season

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — ground
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chair — a leader
  9. land — to come down
  10. season — in sport
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. season — of the year
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. land — a country
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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