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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: mine · chair · wind · bat · coach · safe · field · board

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. board — a committee
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — for sport
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. board — to get on
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. field — farmland
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — for digging
  24. field — a subject

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