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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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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: mouse · coach · wound · trunk · tear · chest · deal · perch

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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