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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: stem · coach · clip · deal · bound · present · trunk · content

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bound — certain
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. present — a gift
  6. deal — to handle
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bound — obliged
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. content — the amount
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — happy
  24. present — the time now

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