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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: row · leaves · prune · branch · club · snap · tear · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — a division
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. club — for golf
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. club — a group
  14. snap — to click
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tear — to rip
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — a line

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