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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. object — an aim
  6. bound — certain
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bound — obliged
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bound — tied together
  15. snap — to click
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. object — a thing
  19. branch — a division
  20. object — to protest
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — for baseball

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