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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: cabinet · bark · chest · court · stand · rush · straw · face

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — to confront
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. court — for sport
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chest — a box
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — to shout
  21. face — to point toward
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — a straw man

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