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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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 — of your body
  2. staff — employees
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. staff — employees
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. hand — help
  8. date — the fruit
  9. staff — a stick
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chest — a box
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bowl — to roll
  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