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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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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: band · branch · net · mark · race · bay · cell · prune

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. band — a ring
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. race — the arms race
  14. net — in sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. net — after costs
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mark — a trace
  20. race — humankind
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. race — a contest
  23. branch — a division
  24. band — a music group

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