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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: march · branch · coach · foot · present · stick · field · chair

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — a division
  4. present — the time now
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. present — a gift
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. present — there
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. field — for sport
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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