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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chest — a box
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. content — happy
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. content — the amount

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