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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: pound · wind · coach · chair · bay · clip

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — to turn a key

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