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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · season · race · coach · wound · content · bark · clip

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. clip — a video
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. season — of the year
  12. bark — to shout
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — happy
  17. season — in sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. race — humankind
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — a contest
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rock — to move gently

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