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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 · craft · squash · coach · wound · spring · court · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — for sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. squash — the sport
  17. craft — a skill
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. squash — to crush
  21. craft — boats
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. craft — a handicraft

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