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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 · chair · spell · temple · wind · face · bat · ruler

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spell — a short time
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. face — to confront
  24. wind — moving air

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