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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: coach · chair · court · trunk · toast · wind · lean · bound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bound — tied together
  4. lean — to bend
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. chair — a leader
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. court — of a king
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bound — obliged
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lean — thin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. court — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. court — of law
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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