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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: pitcher · press · net · branch · tear · prune · bound · object

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. net — for catching
  5. bound — tied together
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — to push
  8. net — after costs
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. object — an aim
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bound — certain
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. press — a publisher
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. branch — a division
  24. net — in sport

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