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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: cell · coach · branch · arm · object · spell · field · snap

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spell — letters
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spell — a short time
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spell — magic
  10. field — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. field — a subject
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. object — a thing
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. branch — a division
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — an aim
  19. field — farmland
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. snap — to click
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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