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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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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. clip — a video
  5. shower — to wash
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. present — the time now
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. present — a gift
  10. rock — music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stock — shares
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — a stone
  18. present — there
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — goods
  23. shower — rain
  24. rock — to move gently

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