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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: branch · wax · coach · arm · pop · cold · stand · fall

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fall — to drop
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pop — to visit
  14. fall — the season
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fall — to drop

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