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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · pound · coach · last · leaves · wound · track · rest

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. last — finally
  3. rest — a break
  4. track — a path
  5. pound — a weight
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — an injury
  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