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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: wake · tear · prune · branch · lash · trunk · march · mine

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mine — for digging
  6. march — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. tear — to rip
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wake — a trail
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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