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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: branch · prune · cold · wound · capital · craft · firm · rest

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — money
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. craft — boats
  15. branch — a division
  16. craft — a skill
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. rest — a break
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — what's left
  24. firm — decided

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