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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: coach · ball · bound · temple · jam · sharp · tear · bark

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — certain
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tear — from crying
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bark — to shout
  23. tear — to rip
  24. sharp — clever

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