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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: ground · board · wind · cold · trunk · cue · branch · coach

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. ground — a position
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — to get on
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. branch — a division
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — the earth
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. board — a committee
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cue — a signal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cold — an illness

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