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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 · branch · bark · fall · hand · row · patient · roll

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — to shout
  16. branch — a division
  17. hand — help
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. hand — in cards
  24. row — a quarrel

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