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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: branch · band · cap · leaves · prune · mine · court · board

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cap — a hat
  4. branch — a division
  5. band — a ring
  6. mine — for digging
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. band — a music group
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. court — of a king
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. court — of law
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. board — to get on
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. court — for sport

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