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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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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: branch · bowl · field · prune · shower · ball · mark · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — farmland
  8. fall — the season
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mark — a grade
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ball — a dance
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — for sport
  23. branch — a division
  24. prune — the fruit

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