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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. season — in sport
  3. object — an aim
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — to protest
  6. chest — a box
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cold — not warm
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — of the year
  16. stock — shares
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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