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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · squash · cold · prune · temple · net · branch · mark

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — after costs
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mark — a trace
  17. prune — to trim
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — a division
  23. clip — for paper
  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