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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: prune · rush · branch · bass · drill · wind · row · fan

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — a line
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — a division
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bass — the fish
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — army training
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — low music

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