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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.

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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: arm · cold · prune · branch · wax · game · root · bay

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wax — to grow
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. root — the cause
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. root — of a plant
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a match
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. root — of a word
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. branch — of a bank

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