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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bay · field · trunk · clip · wake · coach · chest · cabinet

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — a subject
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chest — a box
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — a video
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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