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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: cap · coach · foot · hand · straw · board · pop · chest

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cap — a lid
  3. board — to get on
  4. chest — a box
  5. foot — a measure
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — to visit
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pop — soda
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cap — of ice
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hand — help
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pop — music
  24. chest — of your body

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