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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · coach · chair · season · wind · ground · mate · dip

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ground — a position
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ground — the earth
  12. season — in sport
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mark — a grade

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