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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 · chip · coach · branch · sharp · chair · pitch · kid

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chair — a leader
  3. kid — child
  4. chip — for betting
  5. branch — a division
  6. march — music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — the month

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