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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: fork · prune · snap · branch · wax · calf · pound · bat

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pound — a weight
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. branch — a division
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to click
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — of the leg

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