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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 · perch · racket · coach · trunk · chair · cold · march

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — the month
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. perch — the fish
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. march — music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chair — a leader
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — a division
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cold — not warm

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