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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — from a university
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — help
  10. suit — to fit
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — in a road
  14. suit — in cards
  15. prune — to trim
  16. suit — clothes
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spell — magic
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. prune — the fruit

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