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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.

Make a worksheet

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: march · rest · root · game · coach · perch · wind · branch

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — of a word
  4. rest — what's left
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. root — the cause
  14. branch — a division
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. rest — a break
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. root — of a plant
  23. perch — for a bird
  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