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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mark · club · chair · pitcher · clip · last · coach · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. last — to go on
  8. present — there
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — for paper
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. present — the time now
  13. mark — a grade
  14. club — a group
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. last — finally
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mark — a trace
  20. chair — a leader
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. last — final
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — for dancing

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