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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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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: deal · branch · chest · net · straw · clip · prune · key

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — for a lock
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. key — in music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. key — the most important part
  18. clip — for paper
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chest — a box
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. deal — to handle

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