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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: cold · sharp · bear · lean · branch · coach · dip · pop

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bear — the animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. dip — to sink
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pop — soda
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cold — not warm
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. sharp — clever
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pop — music

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