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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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468
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: temple · bear · rock · branch · bat · cold · charge · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. charge — in control
  4. cold — an illness
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rock — a stone
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bear — the animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — a division
  23. charge — a price
  24. rock — 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