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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: court · season · hide · wound · branch · bass · staff · tear

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of a king
  9. season — of the year
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — to rip
  15. staff — employees
  16. bass — the fish
  17. court — of law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — low music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. court — for sport
  24. branch — a division

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