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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: rush · content · chair · coach · court · wind · arm · mate

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — a friend
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. court — of law
  8. content — the amount
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mate — a partner
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. content — happy

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