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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 116 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 · cold · bark · clip · bound · lean · track · mouse

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — to bend
  8. track — a song
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lean — thin
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bound — tied together
  24. track — to keep track

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