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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 116 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: firm · chair · stand · prune · wind · coach · vault · sharp

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. vault — a safe
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. prune — to trim
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chair — a leader
  10. firm — decided
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. firm — steady
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stand — to bear

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