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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: coach · file · chest · bear · court · bark

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a tool
  5. chest — a box
  6. court — of a king
  7. bear — the animal
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — for sport
  17. bear — the animal
  18. coach — a trainer

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