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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.

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: fine · bass · pop · coach · branch · hand · spell · chest

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. spell — magic
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fine — high quality
  12. spell — letters
  13. fine — all right
  14. hand — help
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bass — the fish
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pop — soda
  24. chest — a box

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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