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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: coach · track · bound · mine · bark · kick · deal · row

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mine — for digging
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. track — a song
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bound — obliged
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. track — to keep track
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — to shout
  19. track — a path
  20. row — a line
  21. bound — certain
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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