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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: saw · staff · key · branch · capital · trunk · season · shower

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. staff — employees
  9. key — the most important part
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. season — of the year
  14. saw — the tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. season — in sport

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