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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · coach · bark · cold · branch · mark · spell · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mark — a trace
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fine — all right
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spell — a short time

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