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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chest — a box
  12. court — of a king
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mug — a cup
  15. court — for sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. spell — magic
  18. branch — a division
  19. mug — to rob
  20. court — of law
  21. kick — in football
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spell — letters
  24. mug — a face

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