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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: branch · scale · bound · saw · bark · prune · land · race

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. race — a contest
  3. saw — the tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. land — ground
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — a country
  14. prune — to trim
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bound — obliged
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. scale — in music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bound — certain

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