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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · hide · hand · object · chair · last · date · coach

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — final
  5. spring — the season
  6. object — an aim
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. object — a thing
  9. hand — help
  10. last — to go on
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — finally
  18. date — the fruit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chair — a leader
  24. coach — a trainer

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