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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cell — a phone
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — to trim
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cell — in biology
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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