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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — completely
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. trunk — of a tree

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