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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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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: cap · wind · trunk · staff · kid · branch · season · object

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. staff — a stick
  3. object — to protest
  4. season — of the year
  5. cap — a hat
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. staff — employees
  9. object — a thing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. staff — employees
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. object — an aim
  24. wind — to turn a key

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