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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 120 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: season · trunk · chest · bass · land · saw · branch · staff

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. season — of the year
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. staff — employees
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — to come down
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — a division
  20. chest — a box
  21. staff — a stick
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — a country
  24. staff — employees

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