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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: coach · cap · face · roll · kid · branch · present · chest

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. face — part of the head
  6. present — the time now
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — a division
  12. face — to confront
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. present — there
  17. kid — child
  18. cap — of ice
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chest — a box
  21. present — a gift
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cap — a lid

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