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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 116 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 · net · swing · wave · face · tear · branch · spring

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — a division
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. spring — a coil
  8. face — to confront
  9. swing — music
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. face — to point toward
  12. spring — the season
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. net — for catching
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spring — of water
  17. net — in sport
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. tear — to rip
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. prune — to trim

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