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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 · bark · sharp · shower · craft · trunk · stand · coach

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. craft — boats
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stand — to bear
  13. shower — rain
  14. craft — a skill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. stand — for spectators

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