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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 · trunk · object · bark · saw · branch · chest · spell

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. prune — to trim
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bark — to shout
  18. saw — the tool
  19. object — a thing
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. object — to protest
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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