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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: branch · bark · ball · cold · safe · fan · board · prune

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. branch — a division
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. board — to get on
  20. ball — a great time
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ball — a dance
  24. prune — to trim

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