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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.

Words on the sheet
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: clip · branch · bark · rush · cell · pitch · squash · prune

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitch — completely
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. squash — the sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. branch — a division
  22. rush — hurry
  23. clip — to cut
  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