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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: straw · wake · race · coach · mine · branch · bark · craft

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. race — humankind
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. craft — boats
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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