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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 120 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 · pound · prune · dip · last · mine · bay · band

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. last — to go on
  17. band — a ring
  18. last — final
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — for digging
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. band — a music group

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