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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
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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: cold · craft · prune · bark · stick · straw · spell · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spell — letters
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. craft — boats

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