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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: bound · tear · prune · lean · band · branch · bark · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. band — a ring
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bound — obliged
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — to shout
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bound — tied together
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — thin
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — to bend
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bound — certain
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — a division
  24. tear — from crying

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