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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · rest · pass · spring · pop · branch · row · season

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — in sport
  4. row — a line
  5. branch — a division
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pass — a permit
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — of water
  14. pop — soda
  15. row — to paddle
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rest — a break
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pop — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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