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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: branch · track · chair · wind · pop · sharp · ball · current

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. track — a path
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. track — a song
  13. ball — a dance
  14. current — of water
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pop — soda
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — a leader
  19. branch — a division
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — electric
  24. branch — of a tree

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