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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 116 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 · hand · pop · wound · bay · branch

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pop — to visit
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pop — music
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pop — soda

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