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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 · land · prune · pop · wind · rule · fork · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. land — to come down
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. branch — a division
  8. fork — in a road
  9. land — a country
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. land — ground
  18. rule — a law
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pop — music
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. branch — of a tree

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