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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: arm · staff · branch · tube · land · squash · court · prune

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — for sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. land — a country
  5. court — of a king
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. staff — a stick
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tube — a container
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. court — of law
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. branch — a division
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tube — the underground
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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