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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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. staff — employees
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — a subject
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bank — of a river
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. staff — a stick
  10. spring — the season
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — a position
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bank — for money
  16. ground — crushed
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — employees
  22. ground — the earth
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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