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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. season — in sport
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pound — a weight
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. branch — a division
  9. fork — in a road
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — happy
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. chest — a box
  18. season — of the year
  19. content — the amount
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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