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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. squash — the sport
  4. last — final
  5. track — a song
  6. object — an aim
  7. last — to go on
  8. spell — letters
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. object — a thing
  13. branch — a division
  14. spell — a short time
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. spell — magic
  18. object — to protest
  19. stand — to bear
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. squash — to crush
  22. track — a path
  23. last — finally
  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