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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: craft · capital · coach · foot · press · firm · chest · bark

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. craft — boats
  5. bark — to shout
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. foot — a measure
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. capital — a city
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. firm — a company
  17. craft — a skill
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. capital — money
  23. press — a publisher
  24. firm — steady

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