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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: coach · bass · content · branch · bound · pop · race · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — a contest
  6. bound — obliged
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. pop — music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. branch — a division
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. content — happy
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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