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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: deal · clip · firm · coach · pound · branch · kid · bore

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pound — a weight
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. firm — a company
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. firm — decided
  10. clip — for paper
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. branch — a division
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bore — to tire
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. deal — to handle
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pound — to hit hard

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