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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: date · cap · pop · deal · tear · branch · trunk · arm

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pop — soda
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tear — to rip
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cap — a lid
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — music
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pop — to visit
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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