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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 120 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: prune · branch · root · field · fork · bat · rash · band

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — a subject
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — the cause
  10. branch — a division
  11. root — of a word
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. field — farmland
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. band — a music group
  17. field — for sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rash — hasty
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rash — a series
  24. bat — the animal

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