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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bark — to shout
  5. net — after costs
  6. club — for golf
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. club — a group
  16. track — a song
  17. net — in sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. net — for catching
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — a weight
  24. mine — belonging to me

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