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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: row · rush · coach · stem · lash · branch · swing · present

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — to come from
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. swing — to play on
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. present — there
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. present — the time now
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. row — to paddle
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. present — a gift
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. row — a quarrel

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