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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: content · tear · coach · field · season · chair · sharp · lean

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lean — thin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — in sport
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chair — a leader
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. tear — to rip
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. content — the amount
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. field — farmland
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lean — to bend
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chair — a professorship

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