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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bank — for money
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cap — of ice
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chair — a leader
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bank — for money
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bank — of a river
  15. branch — a division
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. dip — to sink
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. shower — rain
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. straw — dry grass

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