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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: branch · prune · march · saw · staff · rock · cold · swing

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. swing — music
  7. staff — employees
  8. swing — to play on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rock — music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. staff — a stick
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — an illness
  23. staff — employees
  24. march — 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