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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: board · coach · bay · degree · pop · tube · pound · clip

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. board — to get on
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — a video
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tube — a container
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pound — to hit hard

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