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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: branch · prune · wound · straw · coach · cold · fall · object

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fall — the season
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. object — a thing
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. object — to protest
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cold — not warm
  22. object — an aim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. branch — a division

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