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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: field · club · spring · prune · band · branch · bark · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a ring
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. club — a group
  12. rest — a break
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. band — a music group
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. field — farmland
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. field — for sport
  23. club — for golf
  24. spring — a coil

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