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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: bore · branch · wax · coach · temple · perch · net · clip

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — to grow
  7. branch — a division
  8. clip — for paper
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. bore — to drill
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bore — to tire

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