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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 · sharp · tube · current · race · tear · prune · chest

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — a division
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. tube — a container
  12. current — of water
  13. tear — from crying
  14. current — electric
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — the arms race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — a contest
  21. current — happening now
  22. race — humankind
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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