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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 120 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 · race · hide · court · pop · chip · chair · bass

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pop — to visit
  6. bass — low music
  7. court — of a king
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chip — to eat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pop — music
  15. race — a contest
  16. chip — for betting
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pop — soda
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. race — humankind

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