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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: capital · prune · branch · ground · bowl · file · pop · stem

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stem — to come from
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pop — music
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. branch — a division
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — a position
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pop — soda
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pop — to visit

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