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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: clip · coach · wax · branch · fork · stock · wake · calf

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — goods
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fork — in a road

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