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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. branch — a division
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. key — in music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bark — to shout
  21. key — the most important part
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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