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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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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: coach · chair · wave · perch · bass · lie · pound · tear

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bass — low music
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bass — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — a weight
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pound — to hit hard

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