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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pop — to visit
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. branch — a division
  13. kick — in football
  14. pop — soda
  15. fall — to drop
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — a match
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pop — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — wild animals

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