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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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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: row · prune · branch · deal · bank · march · race · chest

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a line
  5. branch — a division
  6. deal — to handle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. march — the month
  9. bank — for money
  10. race — humankind
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chest — of your body
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. race — a contest
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — to paddle

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