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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: cue · coach · kid · craft · roll · tear · press · branch

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cue — a signal
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. roll — a list
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. roll — a cake
  9. press — newspapers
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — for pool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tear — to rip
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kid — to tease
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. press — to push
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. branch — a division
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — child

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