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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: hand · ground · coach · toast · clip · branch · chip · wound

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — help
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. ground — the earth
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. branch — a division
  11. toast — bread
  12. clip — a video
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — crushed
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ground — a position
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. branch — of a tree

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