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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pop — soda
  9. wake — a trail
  10. degree — temperature
  11. board — to get on
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. branch — a division
  18. pop — to visit
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pop — music
  24. bulb — for light

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