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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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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: pound · last · coach · chair · arm · bulb · file · chest

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chest — a box
  6. file — a tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. last — finally
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chair — a leader
  16. file — a document
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — to go on
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. coach — a trainer

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