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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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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: field · pit · tube · coach · bear · bound · pound · hand

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — help
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tube — the underground
  8. field — a subject
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pit — in a race
  12. field — farmland
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — a container
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bound — obliged
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pound — a weight

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