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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · shower · scale · cap · cold · bore · straw · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. branch — a division
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — in music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bore — to tire
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cap — of ice
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. scale — size or range
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. straw — a straw man

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