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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: sharp · tear · branch · trunk · staff · game · jam · prune

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — a match
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. staff — a stick
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. branch — a division
  18. sharp — clever
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. prune — to trim
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. tear — to rip
  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