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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chest — of your body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — a box
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — the earth
  13. season — of the year
  14. bear — the animal
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. stand — to bear
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ground — a position
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bear — the animal
  24. root — of a word

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