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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bound — obliged
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — a contest
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — the arms race
  14. clip — a video
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bound — certain
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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