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

Word bank: pound · squash · mark · chest · branch · present · prune · kid

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — there
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mark — a grade
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pound — a weight
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. kid — child
  17. branch — a division
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. prune — to trim

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