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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: bark · stick · coach · band · pound · chest · shower · pit

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — to wash
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. band — a ring
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. band — a music group
  17. pound — a weight
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — rain
  21. chest — a box
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pound — to hit hard

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