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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 116 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 · cap · sharp · field · squash · season · club · tear

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — to crush
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. club — for golf
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tear — to rip
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. club — a group
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — in sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the sport
  21. club — for dancing
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cap — of ice

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