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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: coach · rule · chest · face · bound · kick · bowl · bark

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. kick — in football
  4. chest — a box
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bound — obliged
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rule — government
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. face — part of the head
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to confront
  20. rule — a law
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bound — certain

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