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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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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: branch · kick · bass · snap · squash · field · ground · prune

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. squash — to crush
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — a division
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kick — in football
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — farmland
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. field — a subject
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bass — low music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. snap — to click
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. squash — the vegetable

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