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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: prune · straw · face · board · content · stem · mate · branch

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. board — to get on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mate — a partner
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mate — to breed
  16. prune — to trim
  17. face — to point toward
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. branch — a division
  20. board — a committee
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. content — happy
  24. straw — a straw man

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