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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.

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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: deal · prune · stem · land · content · branch · game · rock

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rock — music
  5. deal — to handle
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. game — a match
  10. stem — to come from
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. branch — a division
  14. land — to come down
  15. rock — a stone
  16. game — wild animals
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. land — ground
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. content — the amount
  24. land — a country

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