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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: nail · coach · calf · tube · kid · date · bat · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. kid — child
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — the animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. date — the fruit
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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