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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: ball · lean · band · land · club · cabinet · chair · coach

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — thin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. band — a music group
  13. club — for golf
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. ball — a dance
  17. club — a group
  18. land — to come down
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a ring
  21. club — for dancing
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. land — a country
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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