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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 · bat · branch · ball · can · race · wax · bark

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. ball — a dance
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — a division
  13. can — a tin
  14. race — humankind
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wax — to grow
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. race — a contest
  24. bat — the animal

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