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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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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: lean · current · bound · coach · pound · mug · tear · chest

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mug — a face
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chest — a box
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. current — of water
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bound — obliged
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bound — certain
  19. current — happening now
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lean — thin
  22. current — electric
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bound — tied together

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