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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: march · lie · last · bowl · coach · chest · club · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. club — a group
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chest — a box
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. march — the month
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — finally
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. club — for golf
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — music

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