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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: sharp · pound · cell · coach · kid · mine · bound · arm

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mine — for digging
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. sharp — clever
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cell — a phone
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kid — child
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. kid — to tease

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