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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: prune · cabinet · saw · tear · kid · wave · branch · club

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. club — a group
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. kid — child
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for golf
  17. branch — a division
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. saw — the tool

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