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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: lean · rest · bowl · pass · bark · band · coach · clip

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — a break
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bark — to shout
  12. band — a music group
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lean — thin
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. clip — for paper
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rest — what's left
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rest — what's left

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