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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: clip · branch · rock · coach · drill · tear · spring · court

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spring — of water
  6. court — of law
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — a division
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spring — a coil
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — for sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — music
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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