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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 120 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 · mouse · can · cold · row · pit · bark · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pit — a hole
  4. branch — a division
  5. can — to be able to
  6. row — a line
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bark — to shout
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a bank

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