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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.

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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 · coach · pop · arm · can · prune · cold · chip

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — not warm
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chip — for betting
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chip — to eat
  22. pop — soda
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — the Cold War

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