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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: rush · ground · prune · pound · last · branch · pitch · cell

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rush — hurry
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. last — to go on
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. ground — a position
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. last — finally
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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