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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: wound · race · last · prune · roll · nail · plane · branch

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — humankind
  4. branch — a division
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. roll — a cake
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — final
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. roll — a list
  24. plane — a tool

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