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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: press · coach · club · degree · chair · hand · fork · patient

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. press — newspapers
  3. press — to push
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. press — a publisher
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fork — in a road

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