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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 · kick · chest · saw · row · nail · hide · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. row — to paddle
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. row — a line
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chest — a box

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