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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. track — a song
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. branch — a division
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cell — in biology
  21. track — a path
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. straw — a straw man

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