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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: arm · court · prune · bulb · branch · key · hand · tube

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. court — of a king
  3. tube — the underground
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — help
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. branch — a division
  8. hand — in cards
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. court — for sport
  11. key — in music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of law
  15. prune — to trim
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bulb — for light
  20. key — for a lock
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tube — a container
  24. key — the most important part

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