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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: stick · capital · pitcher · coach · craft · season · chair · cold

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. season — in sport
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. season — of the year
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. craft — boats
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. craft — a skill
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — a city
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. pitcher — a jug

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