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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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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: branch · fall · board · leaves · wax · ground · coach · clip

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fall — the season
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — a video
  13. board — a committee
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — to grow
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — for paper
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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