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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: chest · spring · bound · land · mug · fan · rest · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — to come down
  6. chest — a box
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mug — a face
  20. rest — a break
  21. land — ground
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bound — obliged
  24. spring — the season

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