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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: mine · file · ball · coach · land · tube · clip · bound

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bound — tied together
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bound — certain
  15. tube — a container
  16. ball — a great time
  17. file — a line of people
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bound — obliged
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — belonging to me

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