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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: foot · swing · sharp · spring · cap · date · wind · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cap — a hat
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. date — the fruit
  11. spring — the season
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — a measure
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. branch — a division
  19. sharp — clever
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spring — a coil
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. foot — the bottom

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