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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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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 · cell · coach · stick · wake · mouse · clip · snap

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wake — a trail
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to click
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cell — in a prison

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