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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 116 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 · mine · ball · prune · ground · ruler · cap · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. track — a song
  8. ground — crushed
  9. branch — a division
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. track — to keep track
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. ball — a great time
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ground — the earth
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. prune — to trim

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