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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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. mark — a trace
  4. bear — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. branch — a division
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mark — a grade
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. shower — rain
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. branch — of a tree

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