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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: sharp · pound · bat · lean · prune · bank · branch · field

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. branch — a division
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bank — for money
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bank — for money
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bank — of a river
  17. sharp — clever
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — to bend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lean — thin
  24. pound — to hit hard

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