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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: prune · safe · wind · arm · date · mark · last · branch

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mark — a grade
  4. date — the fruit
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — a division
  8. mark — a trace
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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