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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: coach · bound · wake · bark · chest · last · stand · prune

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — a box
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — finally
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — to bear
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bound — certain
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. last — to go on
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. last — final
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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