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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 120 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 · sharp · foot · stand · bear · swing · coach · last

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. foot — a measure
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stand — to bear
  5. last — to go on
  6. swing — to play on
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. swing — music
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bear — the animal
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chest — a box
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. last — final
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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