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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: season · branch · mouse · sharp · wave · coach · land · content

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. branch — a division
  8. content — happy
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. season — of the year
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — in sport
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. branch — of a bank

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