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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · race · rule · coach · field · pop · bark · firm

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. firm — decided
  3. field — farmland
  4. firm — a company
  5. pop — music
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pop — to visit
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. race — a contest
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — soda
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. firm — steady
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. race — humankind
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bark — to shout

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