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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: mine · last · stem · court · pound · prune · cell · branch

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. court — of a king
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. prune — to trim
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — to come from
  23. court — of law
  24. pound — for dogs

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