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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: bass · branch · coach · sharp · chest · band · wound · tube

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. band — a ring
  3. tube — a container
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. band — a music group
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — a box
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — a division
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bass — low music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chest — of your body
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bass — the instrument

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