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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: march · lie · rash · coach · root · branch · bat · track

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — the animal
  4. track — a path
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. track — a song
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. lie — to recline
  9. march — music
  10. rash — a series
  11. root — of a plant
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. root — the cause
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. track — to keep track
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. root — of a word
  24. march — the month

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