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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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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 · degree · wind · root · rock · hide · prune · mine

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. degree — an amount
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — temperature
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. root — of a word
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. branch — a division
  21. root — the cause
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rock — a stone

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