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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: bound · coach · straw · bank · net · track · land · wound

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. net — after costs
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — for catching
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bank — for money
  7. bound — certain
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bank — for money
  12. bound — obliged
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — in sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. track — to keep track
  21. land — a country
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. land — ground
  24. coach — a trainer

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