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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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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: leaves · band · date · coach · hand · bound · drill · fall

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bound — certain
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. band — a music group
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. hand — in cards
  15. drill — army training
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bound — tied together
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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