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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wake · coach · deal · degree · wound · object · fan · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — from a university
  6. object — a thing
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — temperature
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — to protest
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. object — an aim
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — a trail
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fan — to cool the air

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