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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: chair · rest · shower · coach · ball · can · band · clip

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. can — a tin
  7. band — a music group
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — a video
  12. can — to be able to
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rest — what's left
  16. can — a tin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. band — a ring
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. shower — rain
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. chair — a leader

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