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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: trunk · pound · bark · mate · season · press · chair · chest

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chest — a box
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pound — a weight
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. bark — to shout
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — to push
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. press — a publisher
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — for dogs

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