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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: bowl · cold · branch · trunk · current · coach · snap · foot

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. current — of water
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. current — electric
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. foot — a measure
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. snap — to click
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. branch — a division
  24. bowl — a football final

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