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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: chest · perch · present · mark · date · trunk · coach · content

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. perch — the fish
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — there
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. content — happy
  16. mark — a grade
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — the amount
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. perch — for a bird

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