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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chest · bat · mouse · wake · wave · track · branch

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. chest — of your body
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. track — a path
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. branch — a division
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wake — before a funeral

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