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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 · foot · scale · leaves · rush · chest · ground · chair

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. rush — hurry
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ground — crushed
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ground — the earth
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chair — a leader
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. scale — in music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. ground — a position
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. chest — a box
  24. coach — a trainer

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