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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: nail · squash · bat · chair · charge · coach · board · prune

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. charge — a price
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — the animal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. board — to get on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. board — a committee
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. squash — the sport
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. charge — in control
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. charge — electricity

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