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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bark — to shout
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — to tire
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — of your body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chest — of your body

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