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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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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: branch · prune · deal · march · wind · face · kick · rock

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. face — to confront
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. prune — to trim
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — a stone
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. prune — to trim

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