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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: bound · prune · branch · kid · march · snap · tube · staff

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. prune — to trim
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. march — music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tube — a container
  19. snap — to click
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — a division
  23. staff — employees
  24. march — the month

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