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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · mate · mine · bear · row · tube · lash · trunk

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. tube — a container
  3. branch — a division
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. row — a line
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tube — the underground
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bear — the animal

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