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

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cap — of ice
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — a lid
  15. roll — a list
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. file — a tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. file — a line of people
  24. prune — to trim

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