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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. craft — a skill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. file — a document
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. roll — a list
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. roll — a cake
  20. tear — to rip
  21. squash — to crush
  22. craft — boats
  23. branch — a division
  24. squash — the vegetable

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