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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 124 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. branch — a division
  3. toast — bread
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pop — soda
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. scale — in music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. prune — the fruit

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