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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · coach · capital · spring · branch · racket · bore · wind

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — of water
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bore — to tire
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. bore — to drill
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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