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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: chair · mine · vault · coach · can · stem · date · hide

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. vault — a safe
  8. date — the fruit
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. can — a tin
  14. chair — a leader
  15. can — to be able to
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. can — a tin
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stem — to come from
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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