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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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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: pop · mine · stand · hand · prune · ground · temple · branch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pop — music
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stand — to bear
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — soda
  19. hand — help
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pop — to visit
  24. branch — of a tree

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