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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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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: clip · last · pound · bark · branch · bound · coach · content

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — finally
  8. content — happy
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bound — certain
  21. last — final
  22. bound — tied together
  23. clip — for paper
  24. content — the amount

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