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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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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: board · ground · scale · swing · trunk · chest · coach · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — crushed
  6. face — to point toward
  7. board — to get on
  8. face — to confront
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. swing — in golf
  14. ground — a position
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — the earth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. board — a committee
  21. chest — a box
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. scale — in music

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