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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.

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: mine · pop · band · branch · cold · coach · content · bay

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — the amount
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pop — music
  21. content — happy
  22. pop — to visit
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — soda

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