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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 116 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: kid · fine · spring · bowl · fan · coach · wax · branch

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. kid — to tease
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fine — all right
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — a division
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — the season
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bowl — a football final

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