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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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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: perch · snap · coach · branch · stick · leaves · bark · tear

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. perch — the fish
  5. branch — a division
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to click
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tear — to rip
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. branch — of a tree
  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