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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: season · coach · chair · stand · cap · clip · row · march

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cap — of ice
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — to bear
  11. season — of the year
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. clip — to cut
  17. march — the month
  18. chair — a leader
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — a hat
  23. march — the month
  24. row — to paddle

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