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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: track · branch · cold · wake · bulb · club · prune · key

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wake — a trail
  3. club — for dancing
  4. track — to keep track
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for golf
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — a group
  17. key — in music
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — the most important part
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — a path
  24. prune — the fruit

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