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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: swing · hand · mine · coach · jam · branch · press · wave

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. mine — for digging
  10. press — to push
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hand — help
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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