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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 120 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: kid · last · trunk · bass · can · prune · hand · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — help
  4. last — final
  5. can — a tin
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. last — to go on
  10. can — a tin
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — finally
  17. can — to be able to
  18. prune — to trim
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bass — the fish
  21. kid — child
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bass — low music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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