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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: wind · ball · branch · tube · swing · prune · pop · firm

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. swing — to play on
  4. firm — a company
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pop — soda
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pop — to visit
  11. tube — a container
  12. swing — in golf
  13. ball — a dance
  14. firm — steady
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. firm — decided
  17. swing — music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — a division
  20. ball — a great time
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wind — moving air

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