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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 · hand · chest · tear · chip · branch · current · mark

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. current — electric
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — a box
  6. current — of water
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mark — a trace
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chip — to eat
  21. current — happening now
  22. hand — help
  23. branch — a division
  24. prune — to trim

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