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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: branch · field · prune · straw · sharp · lash · swing · wind

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — a division
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. field — a subject
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — clever
  13. field — for sport
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wind — to turn a key

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