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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: prune · cue · cold · branch · season · rash · date · sharp

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — not warm
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — in sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rash — a series
  17. prune — to trim
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cue — for pool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — a hint
  23. branch — a division
  24. date — 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