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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: racket · tear · branch · saw · coach · spring · sharp · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — of water
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spring — the season
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spring — a coil
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. branch — a division
  23. rash — hasty
  24. coach — a trainer

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