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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: coach · branch · rock · temple · cold · racket · pop · fork

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. branch — a division
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pop — music
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rock — a stone
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rock — music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cold — an illness
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cold — not warm

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