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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: kid · chair · key · coach · fan · mine · race · foot

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. foot — a measure
  5. key — for a lock
  6. kid — to tease
  7. race — humankind
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. key — in music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — a contest
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — child
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. key — the most important part

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