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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · cell · branch · racket · prune · net · clip · mate

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — a video
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — to cut
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mate — a partner
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — a friend
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. prune — to trim
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spring — the season
  24. prune — the fruit

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