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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.

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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 · mine · tear · stick · shower · snap · rock · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — for digging
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rock — a stone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. shower — rain
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to click
  23. rock — music
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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