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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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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: racket · last · swing · cold · bowl · chest · coach · branch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. last — final
  4. branch — a division
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. last — finally
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — to go on
  17. swing — music
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. swing — to play on
  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