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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: march · deal · coach · fork · clip · saw · chair · calf

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fork — in a road
  9. deal — to handle
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. clip — a video
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. march — the month
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. march — music
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — for paper
  23. saw — the tool
  24. calf — a young animal

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