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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: trunk · squash · bore · branch · prune · last · sharp · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — a division
  11. bore — to tire
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bore — to drill

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