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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: kid · date · lie · coach · chest · bulb · march · bank

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bank — of a river
  3. lie — to recline
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bank — for money
  15. bulb — for light
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bank — for money
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. date — on the calendar

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