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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: field · cell · bound · prune · branch · scale · sharp · degree

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cell — in biology
  5. scale — size or range
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — in music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. field — for sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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