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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stick · can · content · wound · chair · bark · field

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — a subject
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. can — a tin
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bark — to shout
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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