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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 · pop · roll · mate · dip · branch · temple · rush

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. pop — soda
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rush — hurry
  6. roll — a list
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pop — to visit
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — a division
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to sink
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pop — music

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