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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 124 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: calf · coach · mug · last · spring · branch · march · land

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. march — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. mug — to rob
  10. last — final
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. last — finally
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mug — a cup
  18. spring — a coil
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — a country
  24. mug — a face

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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