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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: fall · degree · pound · roll · spring · coach · clip · lie

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pound — a weight
  3. clip — a video
  4. roll — a cake
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — of water
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — to cut
  11. roll — a list
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — to recline
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — an untruth

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