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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: season · cabinet · coach · roll · chest · degree · board · trunk

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — a list
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. chest — a box
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. degree — temperature
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. board — a committee
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. season — in sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — of your body

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