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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · pop · kick · chair · rash · can · field · cell

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pop — soda
  4. can — a tin
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pop — to visit
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kick — in football
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — in biology
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cell — a phone
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pop — music
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. can — a tin

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