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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: spring · branch · hide · mate · sharp · squash · game · court

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spring — the season
  5. game — a match
  6. court — of law
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. branch — a division
  10. mate — to breed
  11. squash — to crush
  12. court — for sport
  13. mate — a friend
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spring — of water
  18. squash — the sport
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — a coil
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — a kind of play

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