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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · file · pitch · ball · game · prune · shower · branch

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. game — wild animals
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. shower — to wash
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pitch — completely
  17. shower — rain
  18. branch — a division
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — a coil
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spring — the season
  24. ball — a dance

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