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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.

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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: suit · staff · chair · branch · court · wind · coach · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. court — for sport
  3. suit — to fit
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. stock — shares
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. suit — in cards
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. chair — to sit on

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