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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.

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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: track · clip · coach · rest · chest · cabinet · pound · trunk

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a song
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — to keep track
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rest — a break
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — a video
  21. chest — a box
  22. track — a path
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. trunk — of a tree

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