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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 116 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 · bark · degree · trunk · land · clip · saw

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. land — ground
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bark — to shout
  7. degree — temperature
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. track — a path
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. trunk — of a car

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