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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: swing · prune · chair · temple · wake · branch · hand · firm

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. firm — decided
  3. swing — music
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. firm — steady
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. swing — to play on
  17. firm — a company
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. hand — help
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — part of the body

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