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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · prune · craft · mine · wind · branch · arm · wake

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — a trail
  7. spell — magic
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spell — letters
  11. prune — to trim
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — boats
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. branch — a division
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a tree

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