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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: clip · track · bark · chair · coach · rash · mug · capital

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. track — a path
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a city
  13. rash — a series
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mug — a face
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. capital — money
  19. bark — to shout
  20. track — a song
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. track — to keep track

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