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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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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 · prune · shower · pit · game · file · fork · ground

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fork — in a road
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. file — a tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. shower — rain
  10. pit — in a race
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ground — a position
  15. file — a document
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — the earth
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ground — crushed
  24. game — wild animals

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