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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.

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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: club · deal · craft · prune · stock · branch · fall · clip

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fall — to drop
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. craft — boats
  10. fall — the season
  11. club — a group
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — a video
  17. stock — shares
  18. branch — a division
  19. club — for golf
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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