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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lean — thin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — a group
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. branch — a division
  9. spring — the season
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — of water
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lean — to bend
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a tool
  24. bear — the animal

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