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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 120 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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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: nail · pound · bat · cap · tear · present · bound · coach

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. present — there
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. present — a gift
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bound — certain
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bound — obliged
  14. present — the time now
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a lid

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