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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 116 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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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: leaves · cold · snap · kid · racket · coach · branch · stand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. kid — child
  10. snap — to click
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cold — an illness
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. stand — to bear
  24. coach — a trainer

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