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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: object · swing · rush · chest · wound · hide · trunk · coach

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. object — a thing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — to protest
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — an aim
  19. rush — hurry
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hide — to keep secret

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