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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: bass · coach · toast · branch · game · sharp · prune · arm

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. branch — a division
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bass — low music
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. toast — bread
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bass — the fish
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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