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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.

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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: coach · mouse · last · branch · object · cold · net · club

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — after costs
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. object — a thing
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — for catching
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. net — in sport
  17. last — to go on
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — final
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a bank

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