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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · rule · press · branch · pound · wind

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. press — to push
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. press — a publisher
  8. prune — to trim
  9. press — newspapers
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — a law
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — government
  16. branch — a division
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs

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