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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 120 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: perch · tear · present · coach · hide · cold · root · chest

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. present — there
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. root — of a word
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — a gift
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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