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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: court · coach · chest · plane · branch · file · clip · root

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. file — a document
  9. court — of law
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — of a king
  14. root — of a word
  15. file — a tool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — a box
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — a video
  22. chest — of your body
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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