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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: bark · dip · wake · file · rest · coach · hand · chest

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — of your body
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. hand — in cards
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. bark — to shout
  24. file — a document

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