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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: prune · branch · mate · date · row · deal · rule · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — a division
  6. date — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — to paddle
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rule — a law
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. mate — a friend
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — a video
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. row — a line
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. clip — for paper
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mate — a partner
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rule — government

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