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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: capital · bound · coach · bore · prune · clip · bat · mark

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bore — to tire
  5. clip — to cut
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mark — a trace
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — the animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — to drill
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mark — a grade
  23. clip — a video
  24. bound — certain

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