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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: land · rush · coach · bat · mug · bound · racket · bark

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — certain
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bound — obliged
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — to come down
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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