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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: calf · branch · hand · toast · wound · prune · temple · mark

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. prune — to trim
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. toast — bread
  18. mark — a grade
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — in cards
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mark — a trace
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. temple — side of the head

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