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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: branch · degree · leaves · season · staff · last · band · current

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — a division
  3. season — of the year
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — happening now
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — to go on
  12. staff — a stick
  13. last — finally
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — employees
  17. season — in sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. band — a music group
  21. current — electric
  22. last — final
  23. current — of water
  24. season — to add flavour

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