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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.

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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — a song
  7. kick — in football
  8. track — a path
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — a division
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bank — for money
  15. plane — a tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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