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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: date · prune · branch · tear · race · saw · wake · kick

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. race — humankind
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wake — a trail
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kick — in football
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. race — a contest
  24. saw — the tool

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