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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 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. last — finally
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. last — to go on
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — child
  10. last — final
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. object — an aim
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. season — of the year
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. season — in sport

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