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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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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: stem · perch · prune · branch · hand · row · arm · season

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — in cards
  5. season — in sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. season — of the year
  10. prune — to trim
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. perch — the fish
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — a line
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hand — help
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. branch — a division

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