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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: wound · tear · branch · present · band · prune · staff · deal

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — an injury
  6. present — there
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. staff — employees
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a music group
  12. tear — from crying
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a ring
  15. present — the time now
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. deal — to handle
  18. prune — to trim
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. staff — employees
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. tear — to rip

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