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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: hand · dip · band · branch · pit · fork · race · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. hand — in cards
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — a division
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — the arms race
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a ring
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — to sink
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pit — a hole
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. branch — of a tree

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