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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — a line
  8. stock — shares
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. last — finally
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. row — to paddle
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — to go on
  22. stock — goods
  23. prune — to trim
  24. branch — of a bank

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