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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: craft · prune · branch · rule · wind · snap · mark · straw

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. craft — boats
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mark — a grade
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. rule — government
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to click
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — a law
  21. mark — a trace
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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