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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: board · chair · coach · hide · spring · cabinet · bat · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lean — thin
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lean — to bend
  19. board — to get on
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — the season
  23. board — a committee
  24. bat — the 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