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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 · plane · staff · wind · lash · land · season · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. current — happening now
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. staff — employees
  7. plane — a tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. season — in sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. staff — employees
  16. land — ground
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. staff — a stick
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. current — of water
  22. season — of the year
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. land — a country

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