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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 · clip · pitch · mark · cold · bowl · tube

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mark — a grade
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mark — a trace
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cold — an illness
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tube — a container
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chair — a leader

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