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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. kid — child
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a music group
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — a division
  15. band — a ring
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. craft — a skill
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — to tease
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. craft — boats
  23. snap — to click
  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