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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: chest · degree · coach · staff · toast · arm · chair · pitcher

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — bread
  10. staff — a stick
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chest — a box
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. staff — employees

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