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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pit — in a race
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. prune — to trim
  15. snap — to click
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. branch — a division
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. scale — size or range
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. calf — a young animal

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