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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: staff · sharp · wake · season · court · kick · wind · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. staff — a stick
  6. branch — a division
  7. season — of the year
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — a trail
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kick — in football
  15. staff — employees
  16. court — for sport
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — of a king
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. court — of law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — in sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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