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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bound · bear · branch · cold · foot · hide · coach · ball

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. foot — a measure
  4. branch — a division
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bound — certain
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ball — a great time
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ball — a round shape

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