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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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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 · net · can · game · swing · branch · march · race

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — wild animals
  6. race — a contest
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. race — the arms race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — music
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. swing — to play on
  20. can — a tin
  21. branch — a division
  22. game — a match
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. net — after costs

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