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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: mate · coach · pitcher · pass · chair · leaves · cold · deal

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chair — a leader
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mate — a friend
  7. deal — to handle
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cold — not warm
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pass — a permit
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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