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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: sharp · coach · chair · wound · rock · trunk · bass · chest

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rock — music
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bass — low music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chest — a box

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