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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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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: march · prune · mark · foot · content · branch · kid · lean

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lean — thin
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. content — the amount
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. march — music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. content — happy
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. march — the month
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kid — child

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