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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: cell · staff · prune · chair · pitcher · coach · root · cold

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. staff — a stick
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. root — of a word
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — the cause
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — a phone
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in biology
  22. staff — employees
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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