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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: prune · game · clip · branch · march · saw · toast · bass

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. branch — a division
  3. march — music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bass — low music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. toast — bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. march — the month
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. prune — to trim
  23. game — wild animals
  24. march — the month

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