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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 · cell · chair · last · season · kick · suit · branch

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cell — in biology
  7. season — of the year
  8. suit — in cards
  9. branch — a division
  10. season — in sport
  11. suit — to fit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kick — in football
  17. suit — clothes
  18. last — final
  19. cell — a phone
  20. chair — a leader
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. last — to go on
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. branch — of a tree

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