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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: fan · cap · wake · pop · field · coach · branch · scale

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pop — soda
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — in music
  6. branch — a division
  7. field — farmland
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. field — for sport
  10. pop — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cap — a lid
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cap — a hat
  24. fan — to cool the air

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