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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: field · face · branch · snap · prune · safe · file · degree

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. face — to confront
  3. snap — to click
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. file — a document
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — a subject
  12. degree — an amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. face — part of the head
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — from a university
  17. branch — a division
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. file — a tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. file — a line of people

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