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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.

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: straw · coach · mine · row · leaves · branch · ground · wind

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — a position
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ground — crushed
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. row — a line
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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