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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: fan · stand · coach · clip · saw · spring · branch · row

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. saw — the tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. row — a line
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — a video
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — for paper
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. branch — a division
  17. stand — to bear
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fan — a supporter

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