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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: coach · wound · cell · court · chair · degree · mate · stem

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — of a king
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mate — a partner
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of law
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — a leader

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