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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 · wound · wind · pop · coach · leaves · craft · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. craft — boats
  4. court — for sport
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pop — soda
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. craft — a skill
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — to visit
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. branch — a division
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pop — music
  24. court — of a king

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