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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. branch — a division
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — a path
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. track — a song
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. march — music
  17. kid — child
  18. track — to keep track
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. march — the month
  24. prune — to trim

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