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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: branch · object · calf · coach · perch · cold · fan · tear

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — not warm
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. tear — to rip
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. calf — of the leg

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