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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: wind · track · branch · prune · fine · mate · content · band

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — happy
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. mate — a friend
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. content — the amount
  11. branch — a division
  12. track — to keep track
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mate — a partner
  16. track — a path
  17. fine — all right
  18. band — a music group
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fine — high quality
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. track — a song
  24. mate — to breed

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