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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: spring · cold · charge · fall · squash · lean · coach · branch

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — the season
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. charge — in control
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lean — thin
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. charge — electricity
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. charge — a price
  22. spring — the season
  23. lean — to bend
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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