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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: vault · face · race · prune · trunk · branch · cold · bank

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — a division
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bank — of a river
  9. vault — a safe
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — humankind
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bank — for money
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bank — for money
  18. prune — to trim
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — the fruit

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