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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. squash — the sport
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pop — soda
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — for digging
  7. fork — in a road
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. prune — to trim
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tear — from crying

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