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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
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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: chair · coach · kid · game · bound · spring · shower · root

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. root — the cause
  3. spring — a coil
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — rain
  17. root — of a word
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bound — certain
  21. kid — child
  22. spring — of water
  23. root — of a plant
  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